CHICAGO
SEPTEMBER 1965
The Chicago Bears, the Monsters of the Midway, played their home games at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs. It took imagination and creativity to convert a 1914 baseball park into an NFL football stadium for four months of every year. Temporary stands, like those at a high school athletic field, were erected in front of the right field bleachers to seat an additional four thousand fans. Goalposts were set close to the brick wall in left field and on the first base line in front of the baseball visitor’s dugout. Padding was installed all along the left field wall ever since 1932, when Bronko Nagurski ran headlong through the end zone and slammed into the brick wall. Though he was wearing his leather helmet, he wobbled back to the bench and told Coach Halas that the last guy gave him “quite a lick.”
Preston, Christine, Nathan and Mimi shuffled down the aisle toward their tenth-row box seats on the forty-yard line for the home opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Preston proudly boasted that the seats were fringe benefits he received from being Vittie’s “number one administrative assistant.” So was the new metallic-blue Bonneville convertible that Preston drove to the game.
“Are you kidding?” Nathan said to Preston. “Who gets fringe benefits like that?”
Preston smiled. “I do.”
They settled into their seats, and Christine commented, “I hope the Bears play better than they have so far this year.”
“Home field magic,” Preston said. “And keep your eyes on number forty. He’s a rookie from Kansas named Gale Sayers.”
Before the kickoff, when Preston and Nathan left to get hot dogs and drinks, Mimi turned to Christine and said, “So how is married life treating you?”
“Pretty great. I mean, when you live with someone full-time, there’s bound to be arguments, but we’re doing okay.”
“Arguments?”
“Mostly about my job. I’ve been working crazy hours. I came home late again Friday night, and Preston was furious.”
“I kind of understand it. You work a lot of nights, Chrissie. Doesn’t your boss have a family to go home to?”
Christine shrugged. “He has three kids, but he and his wife are going through a nasty divorce. He’s been kicked out of the house, and he’s lonely. I get it. That’s probably why he wants me around, but he’s starting to get a little too friendly. He tells me what a cushy life he could give some lucky girl when his divorce is final. I laugh. I tell him his wife and kids will get all his money. Then he puts on a sly smile and tells me there’s a lot they don’t know about. I’m sure he means the cash he’s been stashing. Then he offers me a drink.”
“Damn, Christine. You can’t let that go on.”
Christine winced. “He wants me to be his confidant.”
“No way!”
“I know. I try to distance myself. I try to keep it all on a joking level. But I think sometimes he’s serious, especially when he’s had a few.”
“He is serious. How many clues do you need?”
“What am I supposed to do? He’s my boss, and he pays me pretty damn well. I make a lot more than Preston does. I get a lot of overtime pay—time and a half. Besides, he works closely with my dad. Practically every shipment is slated for the military. He and my dad talk almost every day.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have to get out of there. You don’t want your marriage to suffer because of a stupid job or because your dad is doing business with Nicky. You need to find another job. Your dad will understand.”
“Meems, don’t you say a word! If Preston knew what was going on, he’d go crazy. He’s already pissed that I work so many evenings. Meanwhile, where did you get that fabulous vest?”
Mimi smiled and bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to tell you.”
“Come on.”
She laughed. “I got it at E. J. Korvette for eight dollars. But, Chrissie, that bracelet, it’s gorgeous.”
She held her wrist out, and her gold bracelet shimmered in the sunlight. “Pres gave me this last week. For no reason. Just ’cause he loves me.”
“Wow.”
Midway through the third quarter, Preston told Nathan that the same four tickets were available for the Bears/Lions game in two weeks. “I’m supposed to give them away to a contributor,” Preston said, “but I’m going to keep them. Do you want to go?”
“Sure I do, but won’t it be a problem if you don’t give them away?”
Preston smirked. “Absolutely no problem. Fringe benefits.”
“Then everything is copacetic at the office?”
“Today it is, but they’re all coming in next month for the Columbus Day parade. Vittie, Stanley, the accountant. I’m glad that they’re only staying for a few days. Just long enough to give me shit.”
“I thought Vittie couldn’t come into Chicago this fall because of his demanding legislative agenda,” Nathan said. “And that’s why he moved up the wedding date.”
“Don’t play dumb, Nate. You know the answer to that one. I got married five days before LBJ did away with the marital deferment. I told you Vittie doesn’t want his son-in-law going off to Vietnam.”
At that moment, Rudy Bukich dropped back, threw a screen pass to Gale Sayers, who sidestepped his defender, broke into the open field and ran eighty yards for touchdown. “I told you,” Preston yelled above the roar. “I told you to keep your eyes on that guy. He’s going to be rookie of the year. Outta sight!”
Eli was standing on the front stoop, leaning his back against the iron banister and reading the newspaper, when Preston pulled up in his convertible. Eli watched as Nathan and Mimi got out of the car, waved goodbye to Preston and Christine, and walked toward the building. “We just saw the Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams,” Mimi said. “It was so much fun.”
“Beautiful Sunday for a game,” Eli responded with a smile, folding his paper. “I see you’re traveling in style. Pretty spiffy car.”
“It’s a brand-new Pontiac Bonneville. Rides like a dream.”
“Wasn’t that your friend Preston driving the car? The one who was recently married?”
“Yes, it was. He had tickets to the game. On the forty-yard line.”
“Doesn’t he work for Congressman Zielinski?”
“That’s how he got the tickets. Pretty sweet.”
“How fortunate. VIP tickets, a beautiful new car—the congressman must be very generous to his staff.”
That was more than just a casual observation, thought Mimi. What is your fascination with Congressman Zielinski, Mr. Newly Arrived Tenant? Or should I say FBI agent? Perhaps my mother’s supposition wasn’t so off-base.
“I think Preston and Christine did pretty well at their wedding,” Mimi said. “There were several wealthy guests, and I saw a lot of envelopes. We’re going upstairs now. Good evening, Eli.”
When Nathan and Mimi entered the apartment, Nathan said, “Nosy fellow, isn’t he?”
“That money didn’t come from the wedding gifts, Nathan.”
“I don’t know, Meems. That’s what Preston says. Earlier today, when we were standing in the hot dog line, I brought it up. I’m sure you saw the gold bracelet on Christine’s wrist. He’s driving an expensive car. He insisted on buying the refreshments with a pocketful of cash. He’s got primo tickets. I asked him what the hell was going on, and he told me it was the wedding money.”
Mimi shook her head. “Chrissie told me they spent most of their wedding money furnishing the house.”
“Then the money must be coming from his job.”
“He’s not making that kind of salary as an administrative assistant. Chrissie said she makes a lot more than Preston. She said that they couldn’t survive on Preston’s salary alone.”
“I didn’t mean his salary, Meems.”
Mimi raised a brow. “Then what?”
Nathan twisted his lips. “Preston told me to forget it, it never happened. But it did, Meems. How do you unring a bell? How do I forget what I believe is a straight line to a disaster?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s the books and records in the secret room; it’s got to be. Remember Preston’s words? ‘Major shit, the stuff that could send people to jail?’ Two weeks ago, Pres and I were at a softball game. I could tell he was upset again. Something happened at work and all he would say was he had a decision to make. ‘There’s two ways I can play this,’ he said. ‘Two ways, Nate. That’s it.’ I asked him what the hell he was talking about, and he told me to forget about it. Now he’s spending money like he’s Howard Hughes. So, Mimi, what is the obvious conclusion?”
Mimi shrugged. “To me, ‘two ways’ means he could either walk away or somehow participate in the major shit.”
Nathan nodded. “Walk away and keep your mouth shut is certainly one way, probably the ethical and safe way, but Preston’s never been a safe-way kind of guy. I think if there was money on the table, he’d want to grab some of it.”
“Very possible, but Preston doesn’t have a business background, so what does he bring to a complicated business operation? What does he offer Vittie?”
“Silence. Let’s assume that Preston stumbled onto something scandalous and illegal, something that has been going on for years behind that locked door. Obviously, they don’t need Preston’s business help, but they do need his silence. It would be dangerous as all hell, but it could be the reason for the sudden splurge of money.”
“You mean he’s leveraging his father-in-law? Demanding money as a price for his silence? Is that what you’re thinking? Is Preston crazy?”
“I don’t know what to think. Look, we’re just speculating here, but what if the ledgers keep track of illegal transactions—bribery, kickbacks, privileges, unusually large campaign contributions. I don’t know. He’s one of the country’s wealthiest congressmen, isn’t he? Preston said the books went back twenty years.”
Mimi’s hand was covering her lips. “Preston discovered his father-in-law has been corrupt for twenty years, and now he’s blackmailing him. If that’s true, Preston must be out of his mind.”
“It doesn’t have to be blackmail. What if Vittie learned that Preston got into the back room? Maybe the receptionist saw him. Maybe someone noticed that the accounting records were misplaced. Whatever the reason, let’s assume that Vittie found out, confronted Preston and Preston confessed. Maybe Vittie decided to generously ensure his son-in-law’s loyalty?”
Mimi scrunched her face. “I’ve known Vittie for fifteen years. No one would ever accuse him of generosity. He’s not generous to anyone, not even his own daughter. My mom, who has very little money, gave me a bigger allowance than Vittie gave Chrissie. Chrissie always complained that her father wouldn’t part with a nickel.”
“He threw a big wedding.”
“That was political; you said so yourself.” She shook her head. “Wow. So Vittie’s got a scandal going on.”
“Major scandal. You know what occurs to me?” Nathan said, pointing at the floor. “Your downstairs tenant, Mr. Rosen. He’s so damn interested in Vittie and your mom thinks he’s CIA. And so do you.”
Mimi’s jaw dropped. “I said the FBI, but you’re right. He has shown exceptional curiosity where Vittie’s concerned. Damn, do you think the government’s on to him?”
Nathan shrugged. “We don’t really know who Rosen is or why he’s here.”
Mimi smiled and bit her lip. “Are we scripting a television drama?”